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Has anyone tried the Quadrasteer??

I am very interested in an 06 Suburban with the Quadrasteer...does anyone have one here and what do you think about it?? Any problems with plowing??

I will transfer the plow of my Z71 and put it on the new truck...BOSS
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Quadrasteer electronic four-wheel steering ($1,995) dramatically increases maneuverability by turning the rear wheels in the opposite direction from the front wheels. The turning diameter of a Suburban is reduced from the standard 44.3 feet to 35.2 feet with Quadrasteer. In practical terms, a Quadrasteer Suburban can negotiate a U-turn that calls for stopping and backing up in a standard Suburban. Quadrasteer makes it much easier to park in tight spaces, such as underground garages and crowded parking lots. Add a trailer and the benefits increase. Backing a trailer into a parking space at a 90 degree angle is much easier with Quadrasteer. Backing a trailer is also more intuitive, turning a weekend warrior into a trailer-pulling pro; it reduces some of that trial-and-error technique that's embarrassing when there's an audience. At high speeds, Quadrasteer turns the wheels slightly in the same direction as the front wheels for smoother lane changes and enhanced stability. However, we have noticed that vehicles equipped with Quadrasteer tend to have a rougher ride, probably due to the heavy-duty rear axle that comes with the system.

With all due respect, people who "feel" that Quadrasteer (QS) is just one more thing to go wrong have no facts on which to base that "feeling."

We GM owners would be lucky if GM put our trucks through the same rigorous testing that Delphi did with Quadrasteer. This is my second season with this truck and I have 30K miles on it. I have never shut the system off in all that time. I've reduced the time I spend plowing by approximately 30%, tows like a dream, and as a daily drive in and out of a major city every day, the handling and parking ease cannot be beat.

The system is more than up to the task of mating with the Duramax on an HD, but GM has yet to grasp what a great marketing coup this would result in. As long as I own trucks and big SUV's, I will do everything within my power to make sure it's equiped with QS.

It just seems to me that if GM would've had a prime target market for four-wheel-steering (4WS) it would be the snowplowing market. That's why I was surpised that QuadraSteer (QS) was only available on certain 1500's initially. But, I guess when you're offering something new, you have to put it on the lighter duty vehicles first to make sure it'll take the abuse that the system might see. Plus, I suppose plowers would like to see such a costly and yet unproven (initially, that is) new product be shown to work well and be dependable before they risk putting it on one of their new trucks.

Personally, I have a regular cab and have plenty of room at all my plow sites such that I don't need QS. But, it would seem that anyone who has to plow in crowded suburbs or, even worse, in city settings, would find QS really helpful. It just seems that snowplowing is a perfect market for QS.

Plus too and also, with so many guys (and gals) who plow needing extended cabs and crew cabs for their families, QS would be even more desirable to snow plowers with such long-wheelbase trucks.

I'm not up to date on QS and what models it's offered on. Is QS available on HD's yet? If not, is there any word on when it'll be offered on HD's?

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C'mon guys, how about someone setting up a poll in this section???

For example:

If QS were offered on HD's, would you consider it?

Why or why not? e.g., would be great for tight driveways & parking lots, not a bad price, would allow pickups to do work only a highloader/skidsteer can do now, great for driving city streets with plow on front, great for spouse to drive truck & be able to park in parking lots easily, would allow me to do a better job plowing certain jobs where it's difficult to place snow now; would give me an edge in getting certain contracts, effect on resale, unknown reliability, fear of causing breakdown of key plowing equipment, high initial cost, increase in weight, not needed for jobs you do, don't see it lasting as an option offered of GM trucks in the near future, have seen QS-equipped trucks staying too long on dealer lots, fear of effects of road salt on QS components, and so on and so on.

How much would you be willing to spend on this option (someone should post it's current cost as an option) if it were offered for HD's?

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I apologize if this has been fully discussed in threads here before. But, it seems that there should be a lot of interest in QS on this site and in this section. It would seem that snow plowers, especially those who plow with GM's, would be keenly interested in this GM option.

The current word is that GM will not be offering QuadraSteer after the '05 model year. If this is correct (they have been known to change their fuzzy little minds), the cut off date for ordering an '05 is April 8 and order it you must, as you will find very, very few QS equipped trucks on any dealer lots.

The 1500 HD is really a 2500 in thin disguise and is the heaviest available with QS. QuadraSteer by Delphi in some variation is likely to become available on other makes (and perhaps reappear in the GM line) in the near future as it has too many benefits to disappear.

So, not knowing when or on what it will show up on next, if you think you want one, now is the time to get your order in. I ordered a 1500 HD with QS just last week. Even though I only do personal plowing on about a mile of private road plus turn-arounds, being plow-capable was a major consideration for my decision.

The current word is that GM will not be offering QuadraSteer after the '05 model year. If this is correct (they have been known to change their fuzzy little minds), the cut off date for ordering an '05 is April 8 and order it you must, as you will find very, very few QS equipped trucks on any dealer lots.

The 1500 HD is really a 2500 in thin disguise and is the heaviest available with QS. QuadraSteer by Delphi in some variation is likely to become available on other makes (and perhaps reappear in the GM line) in the near future as it has too many benefits to disappear.

So, not knowing when or on what it will show up on next, if you think you want one, now is the time to get your order in. I ordered a 1500 HD with QS just last week. Even though I only do personal plowing on about a mile of private road plus turn-arounds, being plow-capable was a major consideration for my decision.

Click to expand...

I guess I'm not supprised that it's being discontinued as GM just announced that the GMC Envoy with that funky sliding roof and inner window/mid-gate is being discontinued. I've seen only a few in my area. I'm guessing that they were pricey, which is likely why they were dropped as so many people buy for price.

With so many extended and crew cab pickups being offered in so many variations in mid and full size (not to mention the Avalanch which seems to be a lot more popular judging by the vast number I see on the road every day), there's likely a pickup that meets your needs just as well as an SUV with a slidong roof and inner back window setup.

Personally, I didn't see the need for that Envoy with the sliding roof. It just seemed more like a gimmick than meeting a real need in the marketplace.

I also see that pricing on the Trailblazer, Envoy, etc. is being lowered, too (Wednesday's newspaper had an article on that). Is it just me, or does it seem like the 2002-2004 Trailblazer and Envoy look exactly the same as the 2005? If so, why would anyone want a SUV that looks the same as a 3+ year old model??? Why didn't they freshen it up for 2004, or at least 2005?

The same goes for the Tahoe and Yukon. Why weren't the pickup front end changes for 2003 carried over to the big utes for 2004 or 2005? Those models have even older styling than the mid-size utes, right?

I don't get it. Why is GM not freshing up the SUV's the way they did in the past? It seems like the old S-10's and -15's were given some minor front-end restyling every 2-3 years or so, especially in the area of the grills and headlamps and such. What's going on?

Oh well, I never question marketing types. After all, they've driven me crazy in my field for over 25 years (I'm an engineer). Not much that they do makes much sense to me. But then, they only make 2-3 times what I make (or more), so they obviously have more talents than engineers do, right?

OOPS, got me going there on a rant. I'll stop. Or, then again, maybe I won't...

But you know, it is Engineer's Week this week. I have to wonder why engineers seem to be held in such low regard (based on the salaries we get).

I was reading a newspaper article the other day in what's changed in the past 100 years. They told about what some things were true in 2004 (it was an article from mid-2004 that my brother gave me a while back).

The article said that in 1904 that dentists made about $2500/year, and that mechanical engineers made about $5000/year. Wanna guess how many dentists make ½ of what mechanical engineers do today? Yeah, that's right, none. I was floored when I read that.

Everything we touch in our daily lives has been somehow affected by an engineer in some way. If it wasn't for engineers, we'd still be living in trees like chimps (and flinging our crap at each other, too, I guess). Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Oh well, I'll get off of my soapbox... for now.

If you see an engineer today or tomorrow, tell him or her "Happy Engineer's Week!!!" They'll appreciate it.

BigRedBarn, I can certainly sympathize with several of your points, although I came to realize many years ago that "New" does not always mean "improved" and that Change for Change sake can be counterproductive. I have always tended to place Function way above Form in my equipment (and a truck is a piece of equipment for me) purchases although I do spend a few minutes selecting the "best" color as my last decision point. Even then, function, as in hiding dirt, still plays a part.

You mentioned the Envoy with sliding rear roof.... I remember one of the first vehicles to have such a feature, Studebaker back in the late 50s/early 60s as I recall, and it made sense in that Pick Ups were hardly suburbanite-friendly in those days, and you could hose out the back end after hauling the shrubs or transplant trees. Don't think one is going to do that with a $33K Envoy these days. Even then, the El Camino and Ranchero became a more popular alternative to the pick-up/station wagon hybrid.

QuadraSteer does however offer a way to "have your cake and eat it too" in that one can have the benefits of a crew cab along with a good size open bed and still maneuver around back roads, tight parking spaces and such. I would have been quite reluctant to buy such a long vehicle for all-around use where QS not available. By the time I am looking for my next ruck, I hope it will be available on even more choices.